Big Brothers
by RedHann
Summary: The Cullens go out for a hunt and Emmett and Jasper stay back to 'baby-sit' their littlest sister. Jasper/Emmett/Bella bonding. Brother/Sister fluff. Set after Eclipse but before Breaking Dawn. This will probably end up being multiple chapters.
1. Monday: The Nightmare

**A/N: **This story is dedicated to **blackshika98**. I've been taking a break from fanfiction for a while and blackshika98 sent me a PM asking me to write more Brother/Sister bonding moments. Without you, this story would have never been written. So this one's for you!

**Summary: **The Cullens go out for a hunt and Emmett and Jasper stay back to 'baby-sit' their littlest sister. Jasper/Emmett/Bella bonding. Brother/Sister fluff.

Set after Eclipse but before Breaking Dawn. This will probably end up being multiple chapters.

Family, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Humor, and maybe a touch of Angst.

**Disclaimer: **This is _fan_fiction… I think you all know I don't own Twilight or any of it's characters…

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><p>Monday: The Nightmare<p>

Bella's POV

"It'll only be for a week," Edward said as he pulled the Volvo in front of Newton's Sporting Goods store.

"Yeah, a long week," I huffed while unbuckling my seatbelt.

"And it will be over before you know it," he said, leaning across the center console to place a kiss on my cheek. "You can call whenever you want, too."

"I guess that makes it slightly more tolerable," I agreed begrudgingly.

"Now, that's the spirit."

Edward gave me another chaste kiss, this time on the lips. I applied more pressure to the kiss, deepening it. All too soon, though, he pulled away. I rolled my eyes and opened my door.

After taking one step away, I heard the unmistakable sound of his automatic windows rolling down. I turned back to him with a smile.

"I love you, my Bella," he said, giving me my favorite crooked smile.

"And I love you," I said back. "Even it you are leaving me alone for an entire week."

"I'm not leaving you alone."

"What do you mean?" I asked, bewildered.

He smirked at me and said simply, "You'll see."

He drove off before I had the chance to ask what he'd meant. _You'll see? _I'll see what?

I tried not to over think it too much as I walked into work. I greeted Mike and made my way over to the back room to put on my uniform. I got right to work and completely forgot about what Edward had said. Mrs. Newton had me busy stocking shelves and tagging on prices. I was just thankful to have something to keep my mind off having to deal with an Edward-less week.

When I got everything on the bottom shelves in aisle five done, I switched places with Mike so he could work on the top shelves. I probably could have used a small step latter but Mrs. Newton knows how uncoordinated I am and didn't want to risk hurting myself. That was fine by me. I'd rather work the cash register than stock shelves any day.

I was just flipping through a magazine when I noticed someone standing in front of me at the counter.

"Hello, can I help—" my words cut off when it finally registered who it was.

There before me stood Jasper and Emmett. They both had smug smiles lighting up their faces as they took in my surprise. I was surprised for a few reasons. One, because they have never stepped foot in here before, at least not while I have been working here. As far as I know, vampires don't need camping equipment considering they don't camp the conventional way. Reason number two, was that they were supposed to be out hunting with everyone else. By now they should already be across the boarder to Canada. Why would they be here? Why would they ever come here in the first place?

"What are you doing here?" I asked, still completely confused by their presence.

They both turned to each other with wicked smiles. I was used to that from Emmett but not so much from Jasper. Either way, I didn't understand the meaning behind the looks and was about to question them again—demanding an answer this time—when it all clicked.

_You'll see._

Yes. Yes, I do see.

"You guys are babysitting me aren't you?" I asked, a little annoyed.

"Why, yes," Jasper said, turning back to me. "Yes we are."

"This is unbelievable," I mumbled, frustrated. "Why does Edward insist I need to be watched over? I'm eighteen, for heaven sakes! I'm a legal adult and I am capable of taking care of myself."

"We know you are, sweetheart," Emmett said looking amused. "But orders are orders."

"What was he thinking? I can't stay at your house for an entire week," I said while looking between the two of them. "I mean, what about Charlie?"

"That's already taken care of, darlin'," Jasper assured me in is slight southern drawl. "Alice called him and took care of everything. As far as he knows, you took a trip to Toronto with Alice, Rosalie, and Esme. She even packed all your human necessities and has it all ready for you back at the house."

"You're kidding, right?" I asked dryly.

"Nope!" Emmett excitedly exclaimed. "And that means for the next week, you're all ours." He grinned widely at me, showing off all his pearly whites.

I just stared at them for a moment, trying to think of a way out of this mess. When I couldn't think of anything, I mumbled out a halfhearted, "great." They exchanged another round of impish grins that only served to unnerve me. And that made their grins widen.

"What time do you get out of here, anyway?" Emmett asked.

"My shift doesn't end until five," I answered back, picking up my magazine again.

I flipped through it to find the page I left off on when Emmett's huge hand covered it. Trying not to get too annoyed, I looked back up at them.

"That's like two hours from now," He complained. "What are we supposed to do until then?"

"I don't know," I said back to him. "Do whatever it was you two were doing before you came in here."

"No, we can't," Jasper said, looking down.

"Yeah," Emmett agreed. "Esme yelled at us to not do that again. Ever."

"Wait, what were you do—" I cut myself off before I could finish. "Never mind. I don't think I want to know." I rolled my eyes at them. "Here," I said, handing them both magazines off the counter. "Read these to occupy yourselves."

They just looked at each other and shrugged, taking the magazines. They went to go sit on the chairs in the small shoe department. I rolled my eyes and smiled to myself. They weren't _all _bad. Sure, they were annoying at times but I guess that's why I loved them. They were like family to me.

About forty-five minutes later, I looked up as Jasper and Emmett both slammed the magazines down on the counter. I raised my eyebrow at them, wondering what they wanted now.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

"No," Jasper answered. "We're done reading."

I looked at the two very thick magazines skeptically. There was no way they could have read they whole thing.

"She thinks we're lying," Jasper said to Emmett, quiet enough to make it seem like whispering but loud enough for my human ears to catch. "We really did read them."

"All of it?" I asked doubtfully. They nodded. "You both read these magazines?"

"We read them both cover to cover. Twice," Jasper concluded.

"How—"

"We're fast readers," Emmett answered for me.

"Of course you are."

They didn't answer, just grinned. I was about to tell them to leave and come back to pick me up after my shift when Mrs. Newton came out of the supply room.

"Bella, honey, Mr. Newton and I were thinking about closing up early tonight so why don't you just go home now? I won't dock your pay," she said smiling.

"Oh, er, thank you," I said, taking off my apron.

"We'll go pull the jeep around, Bella," Emmett said as I made my way back to my locker.

I quickly changed out of my uniform, not wanting to make them wait too long. When I was ready, I walked back out into the store. I waved a goodbye to the Newton's on my way out the door. As soon as I was outside, Emmett's oversized jeep pulled up in front of me. Jasper climbed out the passenger side and held the door open for me. I looked up at the huge height, wondering how I would make it to the seat. _I suppose if I jumped I may make it…_

Before I had too much time to deliberate, Jasper had picked me up under the armpits like a small child. He smiled at me as he placed me in the seat and pushed me gently until I'd slid over enough to be pressed firmly against Emmett's side. Jasper then climbed in after me so we could all sit in front.

Neither of them bothered with seatbelts and I didn't complain about it. I may not like how any of the Cullens drive—it was much too fast for my taste—but I knew I would be safe.

Jasper wrapped his arm around my shoulders and I leaned into his chest as Emmett blasted the radio. They both sang along to some oldies song I've never heard before. I smiled at them, glad to see them both so happy.

I've never really gotten the chance to spend much time with them. Especially since my eighteenth birthday disaster. I normally tired to suppress that event and the months following from my memory. Not having the Cullens around was not a life I wanted to relive. Edward is the only man I've ever loved. He is also the only man I will _ever _love. But it's not just him I missed. I missed them all while they were away. I even missed Rosalie.

Being with Emmett and Jasper like this in such a carefree way was not something I'd ever experienced before. The only time I'd really ever spent an extended amount of time with Jasper was when we'd been running from James last year.

As far as I can remember, I'd never spent much time with Emmett either. It seems so strange. It feels like I've known the Cullens my whole life. I suppose maybe it's because Edward always talks about them in such a fond way that his memories almost seem like mine. Or maybe I feel like I know them because they are the only people that really know _me_.

Before the Cullens came into my life, I'd never really had any friends. No one to really talk to. Now it seems like I have a whole new family. And I guess I do. The Cullens have always been like family to me. I love them all. Yes…even Rosalie.

Being with Jasper and Emmett this week may not be so bad. I've never lived alone with two boys for any amount of time so this would definitely be interesting. I'm sure it will be a lot of getting made fun of, for me. Emmett's always been one to poke fun at my humanness. I'm sure Jasper will be no different.

"What are you smiling at?" Jasper asked playfully.

"Just thinking about spending a whole week with you two goons," I said cheerfully.

Emmett's booming laugh shook the jeep and Jasper joined in. I was almost sure the jeep would fall apart with the force of their laughter. I started to laugh right along with them, not being able to help myself.

I hadn't even realized we'd pulled up in front of the Cullen mansion until Emmett cut the engine. Jasper flung his door open and hopped out in one smooth movement. I moved to the edge of the seat and just as I was going to jump down, Emmett came in front of me. He grabbed my legs and flung me over his shoulder and ran into the house.

He dropped me down on the couch and went to sit in the reclining chair across from me. Jasper came in and went over to the cabinets that housed their huge movie collection. He opened the doors and stepped aside.

"Emmett and I though maybe you'd want to watch a movie. We've heard it's a very _human _thing to do at sleepovers and such," Jasper explained, grinning lazily at me.

"Yes, very human," I agreed, walking over to him. I picked up a movie off the shelf that looked like something guys would be into. I didn't want to bore them by picking something off Rosalie and Alice's many Chick Flick shelves. I passed the movie to Jasper who grinned in approval of my selection.

He went to get everything set up and I went back to my seat on the couch. I lied down, stretching out my muscles across the cushions. When the movie was ready to play, Jasper made his way over to me and lifted my feet. He slid onto the couch and rested my feet in his lap. He pressed play and Emmett turned off all the lights to give the room a very movie-theater feel.

About somewhere halfway through the movie, I fell asleep. I awoke when I saw a bright light shine from behind my eyelids. My eyes popped open and snapped shut just as quickly, blinded by the light.

"I told you that would wake her up," I heard Jasper mumble.

I groaned and the light was flicked back off. I opened my eyes cautiously this time to find myself in Jasper's arms. He placed me down on a bed and Emmett pulled the blankets up for me.

I looked around in the dark to find myself in Edward's room. I stretched my arms over my head and yawned. Pulling the sheets higher up, I snuggled into the pillows ready to fall asleep again.

"She is so adorable," I'm pretty sure I heard Emmett murmur as they left the room, shutting the door behind them.

I think I smiled slightly to myself as I drifted off to sleep again.

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><p>I woke again with a start, sitting up in bed and clutching my chest. Tears immediately flooded my eyes and by breathing refused to go back to normal.<p>

My dream was one of the worst I'd had in a while. Normally when Edward is around, I don't have to worry about nightmares. Something about his presence wards them off. But now with him away, they are free to sneak back in my defenseless unconscious mind.

I had dreamt about those months when the Cullens had been gone. The dream wasn't scary or anything of the sort. Just unnerving. I hated that feeling over being alone. I'd felt abandoned those months and that was something I hoped to never relive again.

Silly as it was, I couldn't get the tears to stop coming and spilling down my cheeks. The door burst open and light spilled in from the hall. In the door way I could see Emmett and Jasper's silhouettes. I tried to pull myself together, not wanting to cry in front of them.

"Bells, are you alright?" Emmett asked softly.

That was all it took. Sobs erupted from my chest and I began shaking uncontrollably. In an instant, both of them were on the bed with me asking what had happened. I pulled my legs up to my chest and hid my face behind my knees, trying desperately to stop the tears. If there was one thing I hated, it was being weak.

"You aren't weak, Bella," Jasper said gently but firmly as he smoothed my hair back with his hand. He'd obviously read my emotions and that made me feel worse. I didn't want him to feel my pain.

Without warning, my sobs intensified and I felt a pair of stone arms circle around me and pulled me to an equally stony chest. I turned my face toward whichever one of them it was and buried my head there, undoubtedly staining their shirt with tears. Another set of hands rubbed my back in soothing circles. My cries slowly began to stop and I felt myself blush in embarrassment. I don't even like it when Edward sees me like that, let alone his brothers.

I looked up to see that it was Emmett's chest I had been crying into. I pulled away a bit and he untangled his arms from around me, keeping one looped around my shoulders.

"I'm sorry you guys had to see that," I started, my voice crackling and thick from my tears. "That was so embarrassing."

"Hey, you don't have to be embarrassed around us," Jasper said, moving his hand over mine on the bed.

"Yeah," Emmett agreed. "We're like your big brothers. And we hate seeing our baby sister cry like that but you should never feel embarrassed about that."

"Crying is a very common human action," Jasper said, obviously trying to make me feel better. I cracked a smile at that and he kissed me on the forehead, smiling back. "If you don't mind me asking, though; why were you crying?"

"It's nothing."

"It can't be nothing," Emmett disagreed. "If it was truly _nothing_, then you wouldn't have cried."

"You guys will think it's silly."

"Believe me, Bella," Jasper said seriously. "If it made you cry then it most certainly is not _silly_."

"It's just that I always have nightmares when Edward's not around," I admitted, looking down at the comforter.

"Why only when Edward's gone?" Jasper asked.

"I'm not sure," I said truthfully. "All I know is that when he is around, the nightmares tend to stay away… but when he's not around they always come back."

"What are these nightmares about?" Emmett asked carefully.

"Mostly they're about those months after my eighteenth birthday," I said slowly. "I just felt so alone and I never want to feel like that again."

Jasper placed his hand softly on my back and began rubbing slowly up and down much like he'd been doing earlier.

"Us leaving really hurt you, didn't it?" Jasper sadly asked, already knowing the answer. "We swear that we never thought you would have the reaction you did. We all truly thought you would get over us eventually and move on."

I started shaking my head in disagreement. "No, no. I could never forget you guys. You were like family to me."

"You are family to us, too, Bells," Emmett said, tightening his grip on my shoulders minutely. "We should have never listened to Edward. I knew it was a bad idea from the start. I'm so sorry Bells," he continued, looking down and me and hugging me close. "I should have fought harder to stay."

"It's not your fault, Emmett," I said honestly, trying to relieve some of his pain. "It all turned out okay."

Jasper began to shake his head in disagreement, almost looking disgusted. "Months of depression, feeling completely abandoned by your family, still fearing we'll leave again, and now night terrors? You think that's _okay_? Bella, that is not okay." He said, cupping my face between his large hands. "What we did was inexcusable. You are family to us. To all of us. Us Cullens always prided ourselves with being able to stay a family. And then we turned around and abandoned our newest member. That's just not right."

His words touched me, and my eyes began to tear up again.

"Bells," Emmett started. "Sweetheart, please don't cry again. We're here for you now. I promise to never leave again."

"Same here, Bella," Jasper agreed. "We won't ever leave you again. We already made that mistake once and we will _never _repeat it. We love you, Bella."

I smiled widely at that and my heart began to swell. Edward and Alice were the only two Cullens that have ever told me they love me. Hearing it from these two meant so much to me. They really were brothers to me.

"I love you guys, too," I said, my eyes still tearing up in happiness.

"Aww, come here, Bellsy," Emmett said, opening his arms wide. I eagerly hugged him back with as much force and my human arms would allow. "You too, Jazz."

Jasper let out a low chuckle but joined our hug anyway. We all sat there for I don't know how long. After a while, though, my eyes started drooping and my head got heavy.

"Alright, that's enough," Jasper said, slowly pulling away. "Time for the human to go back to sleep. It's only three o'clock in the morning after all."

I yawned in appreciation and let him lower me back down to the mattress. He placed my head on the pillow and pulled the covers back up. He gently placed a kiss on my forehead said a quiet goodnight.

Emmett leaned down to me and placed a kiss on my cheek. "Goodnight, Bellsy."

They were both on their way out the door when I started to panic. Sensing my change in mood, Jasper swung around to look at me worriedly.

"What's wrong, Bella?" he asked, concerned.

"Um… Never mind," I said before rolling back on my side.

"Bells, you can tell us anything," Emmett said in a serious yet calming voice.

Jasper came over and crouched down next to me so our heads were level. "Are you afraid the nightmares will return?"

I looked away from his golden eyes and nodded my head solemnly. A wave of calm washed over me and I instantly felt loads better.

"Not to worry, darlin'," he drawled out, no longer sounding concerned. "We can stay here with you if you'd like." I looked to him to see him smiling at me.

I nodded to him and he climbed back on the bed, laying next to me over the covers. Emmett then laid down on my other side. He ran his fingers through my hair soothingly and my eyes closed again.

I drifted off quickly into a deep, nightmare-less sleep.

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><p><strong>AN:** I hope you all loved it! don't forget to leave a review and tell what you think! If you have any ideas for Emmett/Jasper/Bella bonding moments tell me in a review and I will try to write a chapter about it!

Happy New Year!


	2. Tuesday Part I: Party in the Kitchen

**IMPORTANT!**

*****For the sake of this fanfic, I've made Bella and Jasper more outgoing than they appear in the twilight saga. They are closer as brother and sister and are more willing to go along with Emmett's schemes. However, I've tried really hard to keep them in character so they are still the same Bella and Jasper we all love—just a different side to them.**

*****I'm not going to make Emmett immature like his is in some other fan fictions I've read… I'm trying to keep them all in character as much as possible. Even though Emmett has a positive, hyper attitude towards life, I'm NOT going to make him goofy-silly. **

A wonderful idea for this chapter was given to me by **cherub123 **who suggested our boys make breakfast for their favorite little sister! You rock!

Tuesday Part I: Party in the Kitchen

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><p>After sleeping nearly eight nightmare-free hours , I woke up to the smell of eggs and bacon. I sat up in bed, noticing Emmett and Jasper were no longer laying with me. I pushed back the covers and climbed out of the large king bed. I grabbed a sweatshirt from my suitcase sitting in the corner and threw it lazily over my head.<p>

Pushing open the bedroom door, I inhaled deeply through my nose. Yep, definitely eggs and bacon. I followed the scent down the stairs to the doors that lead to the kitchen.

"The human's coming," I heard Emmett say, chuckling as he did.

I pushed the open the French doors and peered around. My jaw about hit the floor as I saw the mess in front of me. Eggs were splattered on the floors and up on the cabinets. A white chalky substance I recognized as flour coated the countertops. Something that looked like batter was dripping down on the floor from the top of the breakfast bar. Severely burnt pieces of toast were laying out on the counter by the sink soaking in something that looked suspiciously like maple syrup. An overcooked omelet lay on the floor near the sink and drops of homemade chocolate milk dripped down over it. Standing in the midst of it all were Emmett and Jasper, both with large smiles on their faces. They both had flour powered on their cheeks and Emmett had little pieces of cracked eggshell sticking to his dark brown curls.

"Oh… my… gosh," I said, taking it all in. "What on earth happened in here?"

"We made you breakfast!" Emmett cheered, gesturing to the plate sitting over in the little breakfast nook of the kitchen with the only eatable looking thing in the whole room sitting on it. It looked like scrambled eggs and bacon, just as I'd smelled.

"Were you attacked by a breakfast monster?" I asked, laughing as I looked over the whole room.

"No," Jasper replied with a playful roll of his eyes.

"Why? did you see him?" Emmett asked lightheartedly as he jokingly grabbed a skillet from the stove and held it like a shield.

"Yes!" I yelled, playing along. "I think I saw him go that way," I said, pointing to the living room. "You'd better go check!"

Emmett slammed the skillet back down on the burner and clutched his stomach as he bend over, laughing. I joined him, giggling at the hilarity of the moment. The sun had barely come up and already these two had a smile on my face.

"Really, what happened in here?" I asked as my giggles came to an end.

"Jasper started it," Emmett said, gesturing his hand to his vampire brother in question and then waving his hand around the mess.

"Somehow I don't believe you," I said, distrusting. Emmett seemed more of the instigator type and the Jasper I'd always known was too calm and collected to start something like that.

"Thank you, darlin'," Jasper said, tipping an imaginary hat my way and winking.

"Believe it or not, he did," Emmett tried convincing me.

"I did not," Jasper stated, whipping his head around to glare playfully at his brother. "You're the one that started throwing fistfuls of flour at me."

"Yeah," Emmett begrudgingly agreed. "But that was only after you cracked an egg on me."

"I told you that was an accident," Jasper was quick to fire back.

"Isn't it impossible for a vampire to make a mistake like that?" I asked, somewhat confused.

"Bel-la," Jasper sounded out my name exasperatedly. "Whose side are you on?"

"My side!" Emmett whooped before turning to Jasper and saying "told you so."

"Oops," I said, realizing I'd just cost Jasper a win in a fight with Emmett. "Sorry, Jazz."

"I'd be mad if it was at all impossible to be mad at you," Jasper said, smiling fondly at me. "But it's not, so I'm not."

"Thanks," I muttered, my face turning cherry red.

"Aw, you made our little girl blush," Emmett said in a sing-song baby voice.

"Oh hush up, Emmett," I said embarrassedly. They both shared an amused look and an "aww" that only made my blush intensify. After a moment of fawning over me and my bizarre human behavior, Jasper thankful put an end to my embarrassment.

"Alright, Bells," Jasper said, appearing suddenly at my side. He placed a hand at the small of my back and began leading me to the breakfast nook. "You should probably go eat before it gets cold."

While I ate the small, yet salvageable, portion of eggs they'd cooked, Jasper poured me a bowl of the sugary cereal Alice had bought me. Emmett grabbed a milk carton from the fridge and added it to the bowl as they came to sit with me. I pushed the slightly chilled eggs away from me and smiled in thanks for the cereal. Kellogg's Froot Loops, my favorite.

"Ah," Jasper sighed, no doubt reading my happy emotions. "If I'd have know Froot Loops would make you happy, we could have saved ourselves all this trouble," he said, gesturing around the mess of a kitchen.

I shrugged my shoulders and looked at them innocently. "What can I say? I'm a simple girl with simple taste." I smiled at the as I scooped up some more colorful loops and popped them in my mouth. They smiled back at me and Emmett tapped my nose with his knuckle affectionately. I batted his hand away with my spoon, then used it to point at the mess in an obvious attempt to say '_clean it up'._

At a speed nearly impossible for my human eyesight to pick up on; they sprayed, scrubbed, mopped, washed, and polished the whole kitchen until it sparkled. I nearly dropped my spoon at the sight of the immaculate kitchen I saw before me. The only evidence left was what lingered on their clothes and clung to their hair. I raised my eyebrows at them as they came back to the table to sit with me.

"Esme loves us," Jasper explained. "But she doesn't really like us when we trash her kitchen—or any other part of the house, for that matter."

"Yeah," Emmett agreed. "As long as we clean up, we can be as messy as we want." He wiggled his eyebrows at me and smiled when he got me to laugh.

"Funny things, Froot Loops," Jasper commented, staring into the bowl I was eating from. "I never had anything quite so colorful to eat when I was human," he said thoughtfully. "The only green thing I ever had to eat was from plants. Like lettuce, or beans, or things like that. If anything else was green, it was thrown away immediately… I vaguely remember eating rarely cooked beef. That was red… The only orange I remember eating was carrots. And sweet potatoes. Those were pretty good, from what I remember… I don't remember any yellow in my diet. I especially don't remember having anything that was purple or blue. That's just unnatural."

I couldn't tell if he was being serious or if he was trying to get a laugh out of me, but I laughed anyway.

"Jasper, you're so random," I laughed.

"Am I?" He asked, sounding genuinely curious. "Hmm… no one's ever told me that before. But I'm glad I got a laugh out of you." He flashed me his pearly whites in a full on smile.

"Alright, kiddies," Emmett addressed us while rubbing his palms together in a devilish way. "What do ya wanna do today?"

"First order of business," Jasper started in an authoritative tone, "stop calling me a kid."

"Done," Emmett agreed. "But I still get to call Bella that."

"Hey!" I said in disapproval.

"Agreed," Jasper said, disregarding my disagreement.

"Is there anything you'd like to do, Bellsie?" Emmett asked throwing a smile my way.

"Umm… well, nothing immediately comes to mind," I stammered, trying to think of an activity that could hold the attention of two vampires and coming up blank.

"I've got an idea," Jasper started. "How about you teach us how to cook?" he suggested, smiling at me. "That way, next time we cook for you we know what we're doing."

"Um… er… well I guess I could try," I murmured, thinking of all the things that could go wrong.

"Great!" Emmett exclaimed.

"What do you want to teach us first?" Jasper asked.

"Whatever you want to learn, I guess." What on earth could I teach them that they couldn't learn from the Food Network?

"How about a cake?" Emmett asked offhandedly. I quickly did a mental check list off all the different types of cake I could remember. I could only remember a few and none of them were by any means elaborate—or rather, nothing either of them would find remotely interesting.

"That sounds perfect!" Jasper agreed full heartedly. "Alice's eighty-fifth birthday is coming up next month and I know she wants to celebrate it—mainly to show you what a birthday is really supposed to be like." I ignored his jibe about my eighteenth birthday and he continued. "I know Alice wanted to have a cake—mostly for your enjoyment, but also for a real human birthday feel."

"So," I started, putting the pieces together, "_You _want to be the one to make her a cake?"

"Exactly."

"Jasper, that's so sweet," I said, smiling as I thought of Alice's happy surprise when she receives a vision of her husband baking her a cake.

"Yeah, yeah," Emmett buffed. "I just want to bake something with flour. Lots and lots of flour," he taunted mysteriously as he wiggled his eyebrows at Jasper and me.

"But what are we going to do with it after we make it?" I skeptically asked. "I can't eat a whole cake all by myself and I would hate to throw it all out."

Jasper and Emmett looked to each other for a moment, not knowing what to do either. I could tell that they would have no problem throwing it all away. The Cullens lived a luxurious life. They practically threw out their clothes after one use so of course they would have no dilemma tossing a cake none of them would dare eat. It was clear I'd come from a completely different world than them. My years growing up with someone as flighty as Renee had taught me to never take anything for granted. I would never be able to throw out a perfectly good food item.

"Oh," I gasped as a though suddenly occurred to me. "I know what we can do with it! We could take it down to the shelter on fifth street! I'm sure they'd love it."

Jasper and Emmett stared at me as very large, fond smiles grew on their faces.

"Man," Emmett breathed. "Just when you think she can't get any sweeter—"

"—she does," Jasper finished.

I rolled my eyes at them and turned away to search the kitchen for ingredients.

"No, Bella, we're being serious," Jasper stated sweetly. "That really is a kind thing to do."

"Yeah, Bellsie," Emmett added. "Edward is constantly talking about how nice and sweet and tender you are. He really is telling the truth."

"Uh, thanks," I muttered, completely embarrassed. _Edward talks about me like that? To them? Melt my heart…_

"You guy's go get cleaned up and I'll see if we have all the ingredients."

"Aye, aye, Capitan," Emmett saluted before disappearing up the stairs. Jasper was hot on his heels behind him and before I had time to blink, they were both gone.

"Well, that was fast," I muttered. I could almost swear I heard a ghost of a laugh coming from the upstairs but my ears may have been playing tricks on me.

I searched the several pantries in the large kitchen and took a peek in the fridge, making a list as I went of what we would need to pick up form the store. All we needed to get was a package of baking powder, vanilla, and eggs—all the eggs Esme had bought last week were smashed this morning while the boys had their breakfast war.

By the time I was done writing the last item on my nearly compiled list, Emmett and Jasper strolled back into the kitchen looking clean and fresh. Both of them had slightly damped hair matted flat on their heads from their showers. I'd never seem them so human and imperfect like. It was calming almost seeing them look like any other person in the world. Thy both flashed me white, pearly smiles when they saw me staring. I quickly looked down and folded my list to put in my back pocket.

"I'm going to change," I said as I walked to the stairwell. "I'll be back down in a few minutes."

"We'll be waiting" they replied.

Ten minutes later I made me way down the staircase with clean clothes on and a minty fresh taste in my mouth. Emmett and Jasper were right where I left them, sitting in the kitchen. The only noticeable difference was their now dry hair.

"You ready?" I asked as I looked around for my purse. Finding it on the chair in the connecting foyer, I placed the strap securely around my shoulder.

"Where are we going?" Emmett asked as they both stared at my bag in bewilderment.

"We have to pick up some things from the store in order to make the cake," I explained, then quickly amended, "It shouldn't take too long."

"No problem," Jasper smiled.

"This could even be fun," Emmett commented as he grabbed his keys.

I followed them out to the garage to get in the enormous jeep, sitting where I was yesterday—snugly in between the two large men.

It took only ten minutes to get to the store and pretty soon we were strolling down the aisles hunting down the ingredients to make the cake.

"Emmett, I don't think we're going to need the jumbo bag of flour," I remarked, disapprovingly.

"Oh, sweetheart," he said. "I do believe we will." He flashed me his teeth in a cunning smile and I involuntarily swallowed hard.

"Don't worry, darlin'," Jasper smiled, gently throwing a lazy arm around my shoulders. "I'll protect you from anything he's planning."

I smiled my thanks up at him.

Emmett scoffed. "You'll be too busy protecting _yourself_, my brother."

Tightening his arm around me, Jasper's face became a mock hard, menacing glare. "Nobody—and I mean _nobody_—threatens my little sister," Jasper hissed, half serious, half playful. He looked Emmett up and down where he stood before finishing his threat with, "Not even her other older brother."

They stood there, locked in each other's tense gaze and I looked between the two a few times.

"Ooookay," I drew out the word, as I twisted out from under Jasper's stone arm. "This is getting weird." Grabbing the cart, I walked away from the two of them who were now looking at me. "I'm going to go finish our shopping… You two can come if you want or you can stay here… Just whatever you do, try not to cause a scene."

"It's okay, Bells," Jasper said as he fell in step with me on my left side. "We'll be good now."

"Yeah," Emmett agreed, coming over to my right. "We'll behave."

And they did…for the most part. It wasn't until we got to the checkout lane that they started causing trouble again. Pulling out the pink wallet Alice gave me, a strong icy hand stopped me.

"What are you doing?" Emmett asked as he held my hand by my side.

"Well, you see all this stuff in our cart?" I asked rhetorically. "We actually have to exchange money for it in order to take it home with us," I finished in a tone that dripped sarcasm.

"Well someone's feisty today," Jasper said from behind me.

"No kidding," Emmett agreed.

"I'm sorry guys," I said, rubbing my forehead. "I didn't mean to snap. I'm just so used to Edward wanting to pay for everything too. It just gets annoying sometimes."

"That's alright," Emmett said. "We just all like to take care of you sometimes."

Swallowing my pride, I accepted the sleek black credit card Emmett held out to me as we made our way to checkout.

"Bella!" my head whipped up at the sound of my name, staring directly at Jessica Stanley. She was wearing a green apron with the store logo on it, standing behind the cash register of a checkout lane. She motioned me over with her hand, a fake smile plastered on her face.

Jasper placed a hand on my shoulder saying quietly, "You don't have to if you don't want to. There are a few other lanes open we could go to."

I smiled up at him but shook my head. It would be rude to walk away from her when she was blatantly calling me over. Pushing the cart forward, I walked toward Jessica's faux excitement. Emmett and Jasper began unloading the cart as I walked over to Jessica while she rang up our purchases.

"Hey, Bella! Long time, no see!" Jessica commented. I smiled back at her and nodded while putting up my guard.

The only time Jessica was ever this happy to see me was if she wanted something from me that she could gossip about. But who knows? I haven't talked to her since we graduated a few weeks ago… Maybe she just wanted to get caught up.

"So," she started off cheerfully before leaning in close to me. "What are you doing here with Edward's brothers?" She asked curiously. Her voice was low enough that if Jasper and Emmett had been human, they wouldn't have heard. But I knew better. I glanced over at them, watching them put item on the conveyor belt. The both wore calculated expressions and I knew they were listening carefully to our conversation.

"Just doing some shopping," I answered politely.

"Where is Edward? Why isn't he with you?" She fired off.

"He's out of town visiting cousins," I lied smoothly—a rare occurrence for me.

"How are things going between you two?" she continued to pry. "You know, high school relationships rarely work out so don't worry about lying to me if that's the case."

"Edward and I are—"

"They are doing quite well, if you must know," Jasper said firmly, losing the politeness that normally accompanied his every word. "They're even getting married this August. Were you not invited?"

"W-w-well, I, I was… I-I just wasn't sure if it was still—"

"If anything happens to stop the wedding, you'll be notified," Jasper snapped, swiping his card through the keypad.

"But don't hold your breath," Emmett said, putting an arm around me. "Scratch that. You _can _hold your breath if you'd like. It'll just mean one less person we need to have seating for."

"Emmett!" I scolded. That was taking things a little too far. He didn't even know all the problems I'd had with her in the past. Neither of them did, so what was with the hostility?

With one last glare at Jessica, both of them left the store with our groceries telling me they'd meet me at the car.

"Jessica," I started as my receipt printed off. "I'm sorry about them… they just—"

"Whatever," she sneered as she ripped off the receipt and shoved it at me.

I opened my mouth to apologize again but thought better of it. With one last glance at her angry face, I turned and followed the boys out of the store.

Everything was already packed away in the trunk when I got out the parking lot. They were leaning up against the side of the jeep waiting for me when I approached them.

"What was that?" I questioned them and they looked at me shocked.

"Bella, we were just defending you," Jasper said.

"That was still really rude," I replied.

"_She _was really rude, Bellsie," Emmett complained. "You're just too nice to see it."

"I don't like her anymore than the next person," I amended, "but she's not a bad person. And she certainly didn't deserve that."

"Like hell she didn't!" Emmett exclaimed. "We know how terrible she was to you in school."

That stopped me short. "How? You two were a year ahead of me in school… How did you even know what was going on with me back then?"

"Edward told us," Jasper stated simply.

"Edward tells you those things?" I said, surprised and curious.

"Sure," Emmett said. "He never shuts up about you, kid. Sometimes it may be a little annoying but we still listen to what he has to say… You're our sister. We like hearing things about you—just not when it comes to _that girl_."

"Oh, guys," I said, thoughtfully. "I had no idea you care about me like that."

"Of course we do!" Emmett said loudly, pulling me into a huge bear hug.

"Never doubt how much we adore you," Jasper said, affectionately tugging the ends of my hair.

Emmett put me down on my feet after a while then pumped his fist in the air exclaiming, "Let's go make some cake!"

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><p><strong>AN: **I know it has taken FOREVER for me to post this update, but I've been having major computer problems. I didn't expect this update to come as late as it did and for that I'm really sorry. This chapter is dedicated to **thewolfgurlgleek **for her wonderful PMs. Without her, I probably wouldn't have gotten his chapter written when I did. She really got me motivated to keep working on this fanfiction.

I would like to thank all my reviewers from the last chapter and thank you for your wonderful ideas! If anyone else has an idea, please leave it in a review! Your support is definitely appreciated!


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